Tellius Chronicles: Twilight of Radiance
by Konigin.der.Finsternis
Summary: Jessica Stark, a 16-year-old from Earth, is transported to the Continent of Tellius in the year 753, roughly one-hundred years after the defeat of the Goddess Ashera by Ike. In a world where new technology and new magic coexist alongside a rising threat from the mysterious Hatari Empire in the East, Jessica realizes she is part of a prophecy that will change both worlds forever.
1. Chapter 1: A Rough Morning

Author's Note:

Welcome to my Fanfic! I hope you have as much fun reading as I did writing it.

No flames please.

Chapter 1: The Day the World Ended

 _Canta Per Me, Addio_

 _Quel dolce suono_

 _Te passati gionni_

 _Mi sempre ramenta_

 _La vita dell'amore_

 _Dilette del cor mio_

 _O Felice, tu anima mia,_

 _Canta, adaggio…._

A familiar ostinato of four stringed instruments played harmoniously alongside the Italian soprano of Deb Lyons. The music resonated off the walls of the bedroom of one Jessica Stark, throwing her awake, quite abruptly, from the reality-detached sense of wonder that comes with dreams.

Her heart racing, she turned her face, eyes wide open, to the iPod alarm clock that had just activated. The time read 6:00 AM, October 24, 2025. _All too soon._ She swore that she was only asleep for something like an hour. _But it didn't much feel like a dream…what was it, then?_

 _Ah, well. There's no use laying here driving yourself crazy listening to that annoying interruption._ Jessica lifted her arm, which in her exhaustion seemed to greatly exaggerate its normal weight, and flicked the switch on the side of the clock. Deb's voice stopped piercing her mind. _Thank goodness for that._

Jessica got out of bed, showered, and got dressed in her normal outfit: her favorite black thigh-length dress and tights, black elbow-length gloves, black studded belt and pouch, and black boots. Jessica never considered herself a rebel or even just one who liked monochromatic clothing; it was just that more comfortable. _And they call me a goth girl for this!_

Jessica looked into the mirror that hung on her wall opposite her bed, and looked at the girl staring back at her. Six feet tall, long black hair that hung to just above her hips, pale skin, thin lips. A small tear came to her eye as she recognized a person familiar, but not herself.

 _Dad…_

Most people who knew Jessica well enough knew that she bore a "Stark" resemblence to her father, Johann – a tired and overused pun inside and outside of her family. His black hair, tallness, even the hint of his native Dutch in his accent – all seemed to bleed through to those in the know that she was her father's daughter, a child of the Lowlands.

 _Jessica van Idaho, Ben Ik van Duitsen Bloed._ She thought to herself sarcastically, paraphrasing the Wilhelmus, the Dutch national anthem. _Jessica, from Idaho, born was I to the Dutch Blood._

Jessica had last seen her father eight years ago, when his plane disappeared on a flight from Minneapolis to Amsterdam. No plane was ever found. The last contact was made over Greenland, roughly three hours until the Boeing 898's final approach to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. _I've gone half of my life without a father. Who am I kidding? I wear black in mourning!_

Jessica's last memory of her father was of him introducing her to a vintage game for the Wii, _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn._ She hadn't opened the game-case in years – her laptop allowed her to emulate any game she wanted for free - but she kept it close to herself for sentimental value. Despite the antiquity of the game, the images of heroes she had idolized – Micaiah, Sothe, Queen Elincia, Ike – burned bright in her brain as though she had played the game yesterday.

 _Better get going._ An inkling of common sense invaded her brain, taking her away from the nostalgia of the moment.

Jessica walked out of her bedroom door and walked down the hallway toward the living room. She looked around the decrepit space that was her house or lack thereof. As usual, the morning news was playing on the Roku while her mother, Karen, hastily prepared something that smelled burnt for breakfast. _Poor Mom has really let herself go lately._

Within seconds, however, a few words from the TV caught her ear, and Jessica realized why.

"...are still unable to determine the cause of Oliver Singh's disappearance. Authorities now suspect that the accidental explosion of experimental antimatter at the CERN Superaccelerator, which claimed the lives of fifteen of his accomplices, was due to human error, however the location of Singh's body and the bodies of the two Norwegian interns that he was working with are yet to be determined."

The familiar voice of Penny Edwards, a leading anchorwoman for Fox News, blared from the TV. The incident was not necessarily new – it had begun three days ago - but no sooner did the news reach her ear that a thought came to Jessica's head. _That's how my father disappeared…_

It wasn't just that the Boeing Plane disappeared, it was _how_ it disappeared that was so similar to the CERN accident. The Airliner had disappeared in an explosion from a CERN branch laboratory in a similar Superacceleator in – of all places – Greenland. _We suspect that the electro-magnetic pulse from the explosion shut down the plane's electrical functions before it could make an emergency landing in Reykjavik._ The words of the Boeing representative still haunted Jessica ten years later.

 _No wonder mom's so depressed. She's being reminded of my Father's disappearance in the same way Oliver Singh has disappeared._

"Mom, you okay?" Jessica entered the kitchen and leaned against the wall, trying to sound caring.

"I'm fine." Mom said in a tone that Jessica knew meant she was _not_ fine.

"Mom, I know you. What's going on? Is it the antimatter explosion?"

"Yes, but not that one specifically."

"I know, Mom." Jessica said empathetically, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder. She noticed a small gleam coming from just below Mom's eyes, and she quickly realized she was crying.

"Do you need some time to yourself?" Jessica was usually cognizant of when her mom needed to be alone.

"You don't really mind?"

"No big, mom." Jessica smiled.

"All right," Her mom said, trying to sound composed.

So, Jessica walked to school, a disquiet in her heart.


	2. Chapter 2: A Wolf in the Fold

Chapter 2: A Wolf in the Fold

It took a while for Jessica to reach her bus stop down the road each morning, so, she took in the scenery and the cool mountain air surrounding her home city of Garnet Heights. The morning was calm, and sunny, but it still bore the brisk winds of late October, just in time for Jessica's birthday. _That's right,_ she remembered. _I first moved to Garnet Heights just before my 7_ _th_ _birthday._ The day that she had moved here – she could not remember when exactly, only that it was late in October – bore similar weather to today, that crisp feeling of wind biting against the skin when at the same time it was still too hot to wear a coat.

Jessica walked the usual route down Saffron Street, passing friendly folk and the familiar shops of the area. From here, she could smell the brick ovens being fired up at Ursula's, a local bakery specializing in homemade bread, that Jessica would frequent on days off. _Maybe I could just . . ._ She walked to the bakery door, dreaming about the cinnamon-apple danish that could make her morning mood worth bearing.

As soon as she opened the door, the sweet smell of fresh bread being kneaded. She walked up to the counter and began to stare at the fresh danishes that lay but a quarter-inch away behind the glass case.

"Didn't wake up too well this morning, Jess?"

The store owner, Ursula, spoke to Jessica in her usual maternal tone. _Just like Ursula, always observant._ Jessica's eyes darted up to the young Korean-American woman who ran the bakery.

"Nah. It was one of those nights. I was thinking about my father."

Ursula adjusted her glasses. "Still grieving about Johann, huh? You have reason too; he was a good father to you. Come to soothe the pain with a pastry?"

"You got it." Jessica replied in a fake-happy tone. Still, she felt happy that the local baker was looking out for her. She almost seemed like the aunt that Jessica had never had, sometimes.

Jessica paid Ursula the four bucks for her pastry, and began to walk out the door, when, all of a sudden, it opened. A giant of a man stood in the doorway, wearing a pair of blue jeans and no shirt. The man was unusually muscular; he looked almost like something out of WrestleMania. Around his neck he wore a necklace of beads, from which hang a few eagle feathers. His hair was long, messy, and rather large, like something out of an '80s hair band.

 _Must be one of those tribalists from the reservation._ In recent years, the Garnet Heights Tribe, who lived in Waldman, just south of Jessica's home town, had been adopting more ritualistic traditions than the usual operation of the Garnet Heights Casino. Jessica hadn't heard much; only that some of the rituals revolved around shapeshifters, specifically, Lycanthropes. _Werewolves. I stopped believing in them when I was four._

The Man walked past Jessica, giving her a shifty glance as he passed. He walked up to the counter and began to speak to Ursula.

"Morning, Urse." He said in a low tone.

Ursula turned from what she was doing and stopped to look the man in the eye.

"Ah, Hendrik!" Ursula said excitedly, clasping her hands together. "Come here for the usual?"

"No thanks." He said in his level voice. "I've come to deliver a message."

Jessica knew it was rude to watch other people's conversations. However, there was something about the large man that intrigued him, something familiar. Reaching back into the recesses of her mind, she struggled to find what it was that made the man so familiar.

Suddenly, she had a moment of clarity in realization of where she had seen someone like this before. All of the pieces came together, making perfect sense. _Native Americans . . . Lycanthropes . . . Muscular . . . Huge David Lee Roth – like Hair . . ._

"A Wolf Laguz!"

A dead silence filled the room. Clearly, Jessica had said something that would be completely nonsensical to most people. References to _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn_ were not unheard of, at least in the retro gamer community. But among most people, a Wolf Laguz was something completely foreign.

Both Ursula and Hendrik turned their heads, twin looks of confusion on her face. Jessica clasped her hand over her mouth, in recognition of the faux pas she had created.

"What did you say?" Hendrik said.

Jessica, not one to be rude by walking away from a question, answered the Native American man.

"A Wolf Laguz. It's . . . from a game I used to play when I was a kid."

"What game?" The man asked gruffly.

" _Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn._ It's a tactical RPG about a war between Men and Beast-Men. It was released almost twenty years ago."

"Tell me, child," Hendrik put one massive fist on his hip. "Why do you play such an antiquated game? Aren't you more interested in _Final Fantasy XX_ or _The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Messiah_ or some other modern Game?"

Jessica was astounded at the man. He did not seem like the gamer type. Nonetheless, she decided to answer him.

"It was my father's favorite game. He gave his copy to me the day before he . . ." Jessica trailed off, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Her tears, however, were interrupted by Hendrik's voice.

"Ursula. Make that two messages. First of all, the situation in the Frontier is becoming more dire," Despite his keeping a low voice, Jessica could hear him. "Second of all," Hendrik leaned in closer to Ursula. "Execute Case Orange."

"What's he talking about?" Jessica said out loud to Ursula.

Ursula turned to Jessica with a smile. "Don't worry, Jess. Everything will be made clear around noon today. You'd better head to school."

 _Noon today? What does she mean?_ Jessica pondered. Then, the second part of Ursula's words hit her. _Head to school?_ She checked her Apple Watch. The 3D holo-display read 7:55. _I'm going to be late!_

With that she said a quick goodbye to Ursula and Hendrik and bolted out the door.


	3. Chapter 3: Two Worlds Collide

**Sorry I'm late! I've been so busy! Hope you enjoy this next installment!**

Chapter 3: Two Worlds Collide

"...so, as you see, the Existentialist Philosopher Leonardo Marconi believed it is a mistake to believe that life is supposed to be fair. Furthermore, he surmised that anyone who assumed life is fair is blah blah blabbity-blah, blah bl-blah blah . . . "

Jessica sat with her head propped on her palm, her arm propped on her desk, bored out of her skull, any meaning to the words coming out of her teacher's mouth lost in a constant stream of words she couldn't figure out, no more than a river of unintelligible blahs. Her philosophy elective class was rather boring; it seemed that Mr. Crane would only provide answers to the cosmic questions that were the most difficult to comprehend.

"...however, Marconi also believed there is one small condition to life being unfair that may be looked at in a positive light. Those who are treated more unfairly by life are treated to greater challenges to overcome, and thus have a greater potential for greatness, should they overcome it."

The phrase passed in one of Jessica's ears and out the other. Not only was she about to collapse from lack of mental stimulation, but what was left of her brain was laser-focused on the virtual hands on her Apple Watch.

 _11:57._

The clock was only three minutes away from noon. The tension was palpable; her heart beated in her chest rhythmically with each tick of her watch. Minutes turned into Eons as she continue staring at the hands.

 _11:58._

The beating in her heart turned into a hammering. The hour was soon. _Ursula said it would be explained at noon._

 _11:59._

"Miss Stark!"

Jessica bolted upright in her seat.

"Yes, Sir?" She said, nervously.

"Put away your device or I will have to confiscate it!"

"Yes, sir." _Grumpy old jerk._ She pressed the button on the side of the casing, undid the strap, and put it into her desk. As she did, she caught a last passing glimpse of the holo-display. _12:00._

Her heart skipped a beat. _What's going to happen?_ Her pulse increased. Mr. Crane continued to drone on in his usual Olympian disinterest.

That was when the glass window on the other side of the classroom shattered. Jessica heard the screams of several of her classmates, many of them ducking their heads to the ground in an attempt to avoid the shrapnel. Without thinking, she too found herself trying to cram her body in the 24x18 inch space between four steel legs.

Then, everything went silent. No students screaming. No gushing wind that would be expected in the Bitterroot Mountains this time of year. _Nothing._

Jessica came out from under the desk, looked around. Everything was frozen in place. Mr. Crane was stuck mid-turn towards the window, students were stuck mid-scream awaiting particles of glass suspended in the air to hit them.

Jessica raised an eyebrow. _Localized temporal suspension?_ She had seen something like this once, in one of her mother's favorite films, _Tomorrowland._ Yet it was so real, so without special effects that she couldn't believe the silence that hung heavy.

 _Maybe . . . !_ She reached into the black hole of crammed objects in her desk, fumbled for the Apple Watch. The holo-display was still ticking, still going like nothing had happened. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It hung there, stuck at 12:00 and a few seconds. Jessica tried to supress a laugh. _Maybe I could draw a mustache and glasses on Mr. Crane. While I'm at it, why not Austin, too?_ Austin was always trying to ruin her mood.

The silence was shattered by the bursting of two people through the classroom door. Ursula stood there, only she didn't look like herself. Ursula was wearing a flowing robe and had a heavy-looking leatherbound book in her hands. Next to her was a wolf. Not just any wolf, however. It was _huge._ It was about six feet from head to tail and about three-and-a-half at the shoulder. Its fur was silvery-black with streaks of red.

All that came out of Jessica's mouth was: "No way. I was _right?_ He _is_ a Wolf Laguz?" Her sense of wonder seemed to overpower any sense of coherent speech.

"Of course, you were, Jess." Ursula put a smile on her face and petted the wolf. "You think a couple of small-town guys like me and Hendrik would be familiar with your favorite game, and it _not mean something_?"

"Well, yeah, you got that right." Jessica said passively. "Wait a minute. Why in the world am _I_ not frozen?"

"Remember the danish you ordered this morning? I put a spell on it. It makes you immune to temporal freezes as long as its in your system."

 _If this is real, she probably put it into the danish when I wasn't looking; how many danishes have I eaten that have been enchanted by her?_

She looked at the wolf again. At this time, he – Hendrik – didn't look much like she imagined Volug or Nailah to look in real life. His tongue was out, and his eyes looked somewhat gentle as he panted.

Jessica glanced at the clock again. It was still at 12:00 and a few seconds. She glanced at her Apple Watch in disbelief, then stared at Ursula and Hendrik.

"Okay, wait. I can understand Hendrik being a wolf laguz, sort of. It just makes sense, given the way he looked. But how in the heck did that happen on _Earth?_ Why are you dressed like that? Why is everything stopped? What's going on?"

Ursula walked over to Jessica's desk, propped herself on the shelf next to the wall.

"Jessica, you might want to sit down. This will take a while." Jessica sat herself down in the plastic chair.

"First of all, there's something you need to know about your world. Yours is but one of countless parallel universes that exist alongside each other. We really don't know how many there are, but I heard from one of my friends in Melior that there could be one universe for every possible combination of matter at every moment in time."

 _Melior._ The name of the Crimean capital city came to her mind, the place where Queen Elincia and her men had stood off against Ludveck. "You're kidding me. Tellius is real?"

"Why not?" Ursula asked. "Your Earth's own physicists are working on things like Quantum Universe Theory. There could be a trillion worlds called Tellius out there, and a Trillion worlds called Earth."

Jessica tried to keep a grin down, a grin spawned by both disbelief and wonderment. "And . . . _you're_ from Crimea?"

"Yes. Right now, it's the year 753, according to the New Begnion Calendar. The current ruler of Crimea is Eleanor Ridell, great-granddaughter of Queen Elincia. The most powerful merchant company on Tellius right now is FizzartCo. The Daein National Hammerball League just beat Goldoa for the Continental Cup. I can tell you a million anecdotes to convince you."

Jessica tried to believe her, but found herself at a loss for words. Especially that one about the Daein National Hammerball League; _that one_ was unconvincing. "How do I know you're not making all of this up? You could be one of those guys from CERN, who's working with quantum mechanics. Maybe you knew my dad? Yeah, I bet those guys put you up to this."

Ursula held out her right arm, pulled up the sleeve. A black tattoo – though it looked too perfect to have been made by conventional equipment – was detailed in whorls and spirals on her lower arm. "This is the mark of a Branded who was born to a Wolf Laguz Father and a Beorc Mother. I may not look it, but I'm older than you think. Sixty-three is just around the corner."

Jessica looked at Hendrik, his silvery fur glistening. "And what about him?"

"He's my big brother. He took me in after both of my parents threw me out."

Jessica's mouth dropped open. "You really are from Tellius." Jessica was both excited and nervous. She asked the follow-up question. "Then, why are you here?"

Ursula remained silent. Usually, that meant she wasn't prepared to answer readily.

Jessica sighed. "So, what does this mean for me?" Jessica was not really one to mince words, though she _was_ excited that all the characters and stories she knew and loved were real.

Ursula smiled. "We need you to come to Tellius with us. I can't really tell you why unless you agree to come."

"Gee, I . . . I don't know. This is all rather shocking."

"Well," Ursula said, that same motherly grin crossing her face. "I'll give you a week to decide. It takes that long to open a portal, anyway. We'll be here next friday. If you really want to know the answers to your questions, Jess, then you're gonna have to come down the rabbit-hole and into Wonderland with us."

"All right. That takes some of the pressure off." Jessica really didn't know if she wanted to go. "Are you going to fix the window?" Jessica half-hoped Ursula could keep some sort of . . . inter-universal incident from happening.

"Ah, yes. Ursula raised her staff, the orb on the end began to glow. The shards that were suspended in mid-air joined together in chunks, floating toward the empty frame. Soon, the glass was as it was. "That's one small side-effect of a Temporal Freeze. It tends to break things. Also, don't worry about your classmates. Their memories will be gone after the freeze wears off."

"So, I'll see you on Halloween?" Today was the 24th. A week from now, it would be Jessica's childhood-favorite holiday.

"Yes. Now, Jessica, consider your choices. Everything you know, everything _we_ know, depends on it." She trailed off musingly. "We have to go now." Ursula pulled a small statuette out of the folds of her gown, put her hand onto Hendrik's hide. "See you in a week. _Taleus neya akanai!_ " A blinding flash of light erupted around Ursula and Hendrik for a split second, and they were gone.

"Miss Stark, why are you just sitting there staring into space? _Pay Attention!_ "

Jessica wanted to marvel over all that happened, but Mr. Crane was awake now, and, like Ursula had said, unaware of anything that had happened. She resumed listening to his drone, but her mind was now caught up entirely in musings and memories of heroes she kept so close to her heart.

Suddenly, she remembered the last phrase Mr. Crane had spoken before the freeze. _There is one small condition to life being unfair that may be looked at in a positive light. Those who are treated more unfairly by life are treated to greater challenges to overcome, and thus have a greater potential for greatness, should they overcome it._

She smiled to herself. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all..._


End file.
